Egg / egg white 鶏卵・卵白

How it appears on labels

Labeling rules

• Egg is an allergen that must be labeled (Food Labeling Standards, Appended Table 14).
• The labeling covers not only chicken eggs but also eggs of other commonly used birds such as ducks and quails. Fish eggs, reptile eggs, and insect eggs are not included. A statement that the food contains egg is required whether the egg is used separated into yolk and white, or as liquid, powdered, or frozen egg (the Consumer Affairs Agency's Q&A on the Food Labeling Standards, D-6).
• If the ingredient name contains a word that makes clear it is egg, such as “鶏卵” (chicken egg), “玉子” (egg), or “エッグ” (egg), the “（卵を含む）” (contains egg) notation can be omitted (alternative notation and expanded notation, 代替表記・拡大表記; Q&A D-6 and F-1).
• “卵白” (egg white) and “卵黄” (egg yolk) are exceptions: even when the ingredient name is “卵白” or “卵黄”, you must write that it contains egg. The Q&A explains that yolk and white cannot be separated completely at the factory, so a food labeled as yolk only is also mixed with some white (Q&A F-3).
• The Food Labeling Standards (Appended Table 3) define mayonnaise as a semi-solid dressing that uses egg yolk or whole egg, uses no raw materials other than those specified, and has an edible vegetable oil and fat content of 65% or more.

Good to know

• Among the products on this site, the Chinese noodles (中華めん, Shimadaya) list “卵白粉（卵を含む）” (egg white powder (contains egg)), which follows the rule in Q&A F-3.
• The mayonnaise (MAYO×MAYO) lists “鶏卵” (chicken egg) in the ingredients and adds “（一部に卵を含む）” (contains egg in part) at the end. The sesame dressing (胡麻ドレッシング, Ojika Sauce) lists only “鶏卵” with no egg parenthetical, because “鶏卵” is an alternative notation for egg and the parenthetical can be omitted.
• In the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revised edition, 2023 supplement), whole egg (raw) has 12.2 g of protein per 100 g, egg white (raw) has 10.1 g, and dried egg white has 86.5 g. The Tables describe dried egg white as being used as an ingredient in processed foods.

Food composition data

Per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: MEXT, Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revised edition, 2023 supplement).

Products on this site that contain it

Product pages are in Japanese for now; each one reads every ingredient on the label.

Related pages

• Ingredient: Lecithin
• Products on this site: Mayonnaise and dressings
• Products on this site: Noodles

Sources

• Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10 of 2015) — e-Gov Japanese Law Search
• Q&A on the Food Labeling Standards (revised March 28, 2025) — Consumer Affairs Agency
• Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revised edition, 2023 supplement) — MEXT

Sources are in Japanese unless noted otherwise. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.